A Promise and a Challenge: Bless All the Families of the World!
I've been listening to a summer sermon series based on the family stories of Genesis. These stories clearly illustrate that God's plans for the human family are not what we humans expect. The promise in Genesis 12 is that Abram and Sarai will be blessed so that all the families of the earth shall be blessed. The promise is repeated to each generation. And it is repeated in spite of the shortcomings of Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachael, Dinah and her twelve brothers. In each generation, God saw people who would be a blessing to all the families of the earth. The promise continues to God's people in this generation. What is it God sees in us that we can't see in ourselves? How is God calling our church family to be a blessing to all the families of the earth?
This promise/challenge comes just as the season is changing. Many congregations are beginning classes, projects, and perhaps annual fundraising. Are these activities a blessing to the families who participate? How do these activities bless all the families of the earth? The promise and challenge of Genesis is that God sees something more in us than we can imagine. We fall short of who we are created to be, just as Abram and Sarai, Leah and Rachel, Judah and Joseph did.
This issue of FQ News and Notes looks at practical ministry. God's challenge to be a blessing begins with our church families. Jesus promises to be present in each small-group gathering — from administrative meetings and music rehearsals to worship and classes. God challenges us to be attentive to blessing in the midst of daily life so that blessing flows through us to all families of the world.
Betsey Heavner (bheavner@gbod.org) is Director of FaithQuest at The United Methodist General Board of Discipleship, Nashville, Tennessee.
Church Work as Worship: A Model for Meetings